Kominicki: Taxes, cotton mouth and the munchies coming soon

The nation’s economic malaise is proving especially tough on the states, which, unlike the feds, can’t merely print money as a way out. No, friends, state governments must act like the rest of us and tighten the belt, do more with less, cut the coat according to the current cloth.

Yeah, right.

Instead, our 50 provincial capitals are dreaming up all sorts of creative revenuing to help replenish the coffers. In New York, for example, the governor pitched an 18 percent tax on sugared soft drinks, plus new levies on everything from manicures to bowling. In New Jersey, state lawmakers pushed through a tax on health club memberships and, in Kentucky, a toll on cell phone ringtones.

Georgia eyed a $5 cover charge on strip club patrons, although the so-called “pole tax” did not pass. In Wisconsin, the governor proposed charging a penny a pop to slaughter a chicken and 14 cents per pig.
Michigan has upped the state’s take on beer sales, which is a shame, because if there was ever a place that needed a collective drink, it’s the Edsel State.

But the nation’s most-watched measure comes to us from California, where revenue desperation has reached new highs. Introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, the bill would legalize marijuana and tax it at the rate of $50 per ounce, yielding more than $1 billion annually. The proposal was shelved in the current legislative session but its return is as sure as a “Lethal Weapon” sequel.

I say “most-watched” because 100 million Americans – that’s a third of the current population – have admitted to some form of marijuana use. Half of us born in this country since 1960 have tried cannabis, and an astounding 750,000 have been arrested for simple possession since 1991.

Proponents brandish those numbers in arguing that pot is already widely used and far safer than such legal addictives as cigarettes and liquor. Policing its production, distribution and use, they say, is a mammoth waste of time and money and a significant burden on the cops, the courts and the penal system, which would all be better off chasing terrorists and rogue skateboarders.

Opponents argue that today’s marijuana is not your father’s pot. It is significantly more potent than the weed of the 1970s and, though research is still sketchy, likely much more habit-forming.

Of course it’s more potent, the other side counters. Today’s growers sell a respectable blend of female buds, not the old rip-off bag of male leaves with lots of seeds and stems thrown in for weight. And the potency of legalized pot could easily be regulated, just as we’ve done with alcohol, which sells as 0.05 percent “near beer” all the way up to 190-proof Everclear.

But the number of people reporting problems with marijuana use is climbing dramatically, opponents note.
Yes, because the courts increasingly order those busted for possession into programs. And remember, we’ve decreased the number of cigarette smokers in America by half over the past three decades through public education, not by court-ordered counseling.

But marijuana use increased in the Netherlands when the government decided on de facto legalization by allowing sales of small amounts in coffee shops.

True, but only slightly. And in Holland, marijuana use per capita is far below that in most European countries and significantly lower than in the United States. Just 6 percent of Dutch 15- to 64-year-olds have used marijuana in the past year, compared with 11 percent in the United States, which is the world’s largest consumer of pot, despite the efforts of law enforcement.

Ah, but we have to worry about the children. What would legalizing a potentially dangerous drug say to them?

Hah! Kids have greater access to marijuana today than they do to alcohol and cigarettes, which are legal but controlled. Better to get it off the street corner and into an ID-required convenience store.

Dopehead!

Fogy!

And so the debate goes on.

In California, where 56 percent of registered voters support legalization, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for a large-scale study, including international comparisons, to weigh the possible effects. That’s smart, given that no other place has legalized the production, distribution and use of cannabis, although Holland and others have come up with various ways of looking the other way.

But tolerating the drug’s use doesn’t allow for its ultimate taxation and, with a $20 billion deficit, California could clearly use a new cash crop.

Among the other pesky details is the question of whether legalization would, or should, spread to other states. Utah? The Bible Belt? Our own New York, where marijuana may have just played a part in one of the most heartbreaking auto mishaps in history?

In Europe, where legalization has been slow to catch on, Holland serves as a sort of Doper’s Disneyland for the vacationing “users” of the Continent and beyond. Is California ready for that possibility?

Those issues aside, I’m ready to give legalization a try. As one of those lucky enough to have been part of the 100 million but not the 750,000, I’ve been aching for a couple of good joints for years.

5 comments

WEED DID NOT cause that lady to have that accident and anybody who knows anything knows that. The Media obviously tried to pull pot into it but I think most Americans know that after 10 ALCOHOLIC beverages it doesn’t matter what the heck you take, you ARE going to crash. You did good in this article right up until you put that rubbish in there.

Good article. Just want to point out that the 750,000 figure is wrong. It’s 750,000 per year or more. The lives of millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans have been, and will continue to be, destroyed because of Prohibition.

When California re-legalizes cannabis tourism will skyrocket. Trips to Amsterdam will diminish.

I’ve noticed with Escondido’s Ban on pot that we need to be compassionate to our friends and neighbors who are afraid..

Fear is the only tool in the war on Cannabis that works on both sides.

We are a Nation of Cannabis people when you consider the Majority of opinion now..

So hey lazy cannabis people are you registered to Vote?

California? The only initiative in California for the people is CaliforniaCannabisInitiative.org Under that one you can actually practice Horticulture as a private citizen. So you like the rose-honey one and the spice cake one and wonder what honey-rose-spice-cake would smell like well CalliforniaCannabisInitiative.org is the only one that will let you find out without going to prison.

Folks if we are going to legalize we must LEGALIZE and not just empower Business.